Oklahoma City Thunder: Midseason Team Awards
By Jake Fielder
Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Think back to the preseason. Now raise your hand if you would have believed that the Oklahoma City Thunder would be 22-20 and in 9th place in the West at the mid-point of the season…
I’m assuming no one, not even the most adamant among the Thunder opposition, saw a precipitous fall of this magnitude. Granted, I’m sure an equal number of people couldn’t have foreseen devastating injuries to both Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant before OKC was even three games into the season. In fact, the Thunder were only a meager 4-12 when Westbrook finally returned. With all that taken into account, Oklahoma City shouldn’t feel too shabby about being just three games back of Phoenix and the final playoff spot.
Before we turn our attention to the playoff push, however, it’s time to turn back and reflect on the first half of the season. More specifically, what players excelled over the first 41 games?
At Thunderous Intentions, we will be handing out our midseason team awards – Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Most Valuable Player – to the most deserving Thunder players, in much the same way that the NBA does.
This won’t so much be a look at how OKC stacks up against the rest of the league but rather which players have been must instrumental to the Thunder thus far. There’s been amazing performances, young players stepping up, and shockingly, no full-on-fights with Steven Adams thus far. So with all that in mind, let’s begin with looking at the Oklahoma City Thunder’s mid-point Rookie of the Year.
Next: Thunder Rookie of the Year